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IVI.v R`l 85 P N EIIIHRIDGEl 2 Sheets-sheet 1.

TACK DRIVING MACHINE.

I00,147. Pa\teI1ted \Mar. 29,- 1887.

(No Model.) 2 lsheetssheet 2.

M. R. 8u P. N. ETHRIDGB.

TACK DRIVING MACHINE. No. 360,147. Patented Mar. 29, 1887-.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN R. ETHRIDGE AND FRANK N. ETHRIDGE, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS; SAID FRANK N. ETHRIDGE ASSIGNOR TO SAID MARTIN R. ETHRIDGE.

TACK-DRIVING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,147, dated March 29, 188'7A Application filed December 24, 1886. Serial No. 222,439.

T @ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, MARTIN R. ETHRIDGE and FRANK N. ETHRIDGE, citizens of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tack-Driving Machines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will lo enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in tack-driving machines; and it consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination r 5 of parts, .substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings, illust-rating our invention, Figure l is a perspective view of the entire machine, together with a filling attachment forv supplying the raceway. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same, taken in a vertical planepassing through the line m x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizont-al sectional plan view on the line y of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a top 2 5 plan ofthe parts included between the lines o and w ofFig. 2. Fig. 5is a vertical section of the device for filling the raeeway, taken on the line z of Fig. l. Fig. Gis a detail sectional elevation of the mechanism for transferring the 50 tacks from the raceway to the plunger-barrel,

and shows the rotative tackcarrier in the po sition which it occupies when receiving a tack from the raceway. Fig. 7 is a similar View, and shows the position of the rotative taekcarrier when depositing a tack in the plungerbarrel. Fig. Sis a sectional detail plan ofthe notched plate which forms a part of the horizontally-rotative tack-shifter.

Similar letters of reference denote correspending parts throughout all the figures.

In the general and ordinary use of our improved tack `driving machine the operative parts thereof are actuated by power communi` cated from a distance, and, consequently, the

main frame, which supports the mechanical devices, is arranged similarly to other. suspended nailing-machines, so as to swing above the fable or bench before which the artisan is stationed, and thus be conveniently moved by him from point to point of the work.

A represents a skeleton frame provided at (No model.)

its topiuost end with a hook, a, which engages a ehain,whereby the said frame, as well as the rest of the machine, is supported. Below the frame A, and firmly secured thereto, is a metallic casting, B, which serves as a portion of the plunger-barrel, and below the casting B, and rigidly attached to it, is the remaining part,G,of the plunger-barrel, the lower end of which is fashioned as the usual conical-shaped 6o nose.

In the frame A, near its upper end, isjournaled a horizontal shaft, b, upon which, between the shaft-bearings, is securely mounted a pulley, D, so that the revolution ofthe pulley will rotate the shaft.

E E represent reversely-cu rved yokes,which are connected by a rod, c. The arms of the. yoke E extend on opposite sides of the frame A and their extremities are bored to permit 7o the passage through themloosel y ofthe opposite ends of the shaft I), just outside of its bearings, as shown in Fig. l. \Vithin the yoke E is journaled a shaft carrying a pulley, d, said pulleys d and D being operated together by a connecting-belt. Iower colning from any suitable source may he applied to the pulley d, and thus to the machine. rlhis arrangement permits an easy change of position in the machine during its operation without the 8o danger of disarranging the parts which apply the driving-power.

On one end of the shaft b is secured a piuion, e, which meshes with a gear-wheel, F, whose spindle is journaled in one of the side uprights of frame A. This gear F engages a pinion,f, on the end of a horizontal shaft, g, whose bearings are formed in a horizontal casting, G', situated within the lower portion of the frame A and above the casting B. The 9o shaft g carries a ri gidl y-attached segment-gear,

G, which works within a space in the casting G between the two shaftbearings. (See Fig. 4.)

The plunger-rod II occupies a vertical passage-way through the parts B and C, the upper extremity of said plunger emerging from the part B, and being preferably provided with a rounded terminal knob, t'. A A portion of the passage which receives the plunger is formed le.: as an elongated chamber, H, which contains a spiral spring, I, that is coiled closely about the 4plunger andis tensioned between the up-4 per wall of the chamber and a collar secured to the plunger and resting normally on the bottom of the chamber'.v Below the-chamber H the plunger is formed only as a small cylindrical rod, and the passage which contains it is correspondingly decreased in size.

It will be readily seen that ifthe plunger H be raised by any means the spring I will be compressed, and then, if the elevating agent be suddenly removed, the expansion of the spring will drive the plunger downward. The spring I is of such a degree of resiliency that the descent of the plunger will be of sufficient power to drive the tack that may be in its path.

The plunger H is provided along its rear side with a series of teeth, 7c, which form a rack-bar, that lies in the same vertical plane with the segment G. The plunger is normally situated so that the upper tooth of the rack-bar will be just far enough from the gear G to escape being engaged thereby during the revolutions of the segment, and yet the segment and rack-bar are in such proximity that if the plunger is raised slightly the engagement between the segment and the rack will take place. This engagement will result in elevating the plunger, and the elevation will continue until the last 'tooth of the segment has been disengaged from the rack, when the resilient action ofthe compressed spring I will force down the plunger.

It is obvious that various mechanical devices may be employed for the purpose of raising the plunger-rod, so that the rack may come into engagement with the segment. In the drawings (see Fig. 2) there is shown a crank lever, J, which is pivoted to a projection on the casting B. One end of the lever J rests beneath a lug, k', on the plunger. If, now, the lever J be moved from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dotted lines, the plunger will be raised sufficiently to bring it under the action of the segment-gear. At each revolution of the segment the plunger will be elevated and subsequently brought down by the action of the spring and a tack driven. The machine is thus under the easy control of the operator, who has simply tomanipulate the lever J, pressing it toward the plunger-barrel when he desires to drive a tack and relaxing his hold thereon after the driving isconcluded, and to suit the varied movements of the machine.

Evidently by continuing the pressure upon the lever any number of tacks may be driven successively where the nature of the work will permit it. i y

It now remains to describe the manner in which the tacks are automatically placed bcneath the plunger one by one in succession.

K indicates the inclined chute or raceway, which is secured at its lower end to the plunger-barrel. This raceway is provided with a longitudinal groove that is filled with tacks, and which opens into a tubular orifice that eX- tends vertically through the lowe'rmost portion of the raceway metal. Y

The operation of iilling the raceway maybe performed by any suitable devices, oneof ,the point where the two passages meet until the rod h rises past that point, when it will slip down to the lower end of the nose. It

therefore becomes necessary to devise means for transferring the tacks individually from the raceway K to the channel L. In order to accomplish this we provide a perpendicular rod, M, which isjou'rnaled in the projection Z on the plunger-barrel,so as to be horizontally rotative. Collars m m are affixed to the rod above and below the bearing Z, and the lower end of the rod enters the tubular orificeat the base of the raceway-groove, while the\upper end is provided with a cam, N, which is Shaped as a convoluted wing. This cam is rigidly attached to the rod M by means of a set-screw or other suitable devices, or it may be made integral with the rod.

wing-shaped cam in such a manner that during the ascent of the plunger its head will -bear against the under face of the cam, thereby moving it and rotating the rod M. A properly-tensioned spring, P, on the rod M acts to v return the cam and rod to their first position after the plunger has moved downward out of contact with the cam. Further, the lower portion of the rod M iscut away, as shown, leaving Va horizontal plate, n, which lies directly at the extremity of the raceway-groove. (See Fig. 6.) 'Ihe plate n is notched at o, Fig. 8, the notch being only large enough to receive the body of an ordinary tack.

^ It will be further noted as an important feature that the plate a is situated eccentrically within the tubular orifice at the base of the raceway-that is to say, it is so situated wit-hin the oriice as to lie close to the end of the raceway-groove,whilc there is more or less space betweenit and apart or thewhole of the remainder of thewall of said orifice. (See Fig. 3.)

Above the plate n the rod M is verticallyv 'downward projection, i', which enters an irregular cam-shaped groove, a,which partially surrounds the rod M, and is formed in a plate provided for the purpose, or is provided in The head of' the plunger-rod is situated directly below this IOO ILO

any other convenient way. then the rod M has been partially rotated by the action of the plunger-rod, the notch o in the plate a will register with the raceway-groove, and a tack will slip from the groove and be lodged therein. The arm O will also be so governed by the movement of its projection r within the irregular groove u that the foot p will be behind the notch 0, as shown in Fig. 6. Now, when the rod M flies back under the tension of spring P, the tack carried by the plate n will be moved to apoint where there is aslight distance between the wall of the tubular orice and the eccentrically-located rod, and at the same time the movement of the arm O under the action ofthe irregular groove will be such as to throw the foot against thetack and push it from the plate so that it will fall into the channel L. lt will thus be seen that at each partial return rotation of the rod M a tack will be shifted from its position in the raceway to the channel L, and thus to the nose in advance ot' the plunger.

The raceway or chute which feeds the tacks to the plunger may obviously be filled in various ways. XVe have represented in our drawings one plan of mechanism for aecomplishing this result. It comprises a hollow rotary drum,Q, mounted on suitable supports, which are connected rigidly to the framework that supports the tack-driving mechanism. In the drawings, T denotes a standard secured to the plate U, fastened to the plungerbarrel. A horizontal connection, T, extends between standard T and another standard,T, between which standards the drum Q is situated. Through oneside ot' the drum passes the raceway. The drum is actuated by any convenient driving-power. lts interior is provided with a series of plates or partial partitions, o,whieh form buckets. A part of these buckets are filled with tacks, the wall of the drum being furnished with a door, w, for the easy admission of the tacks to the interior of the drum. The rapid revolution ot' the drum will cause the tacks within tofly about in great confusion, and enough will be caught by the raceway to keep it constantly full.

Inasmuch as from the foregoing description ofthe construction and disposition ofthe several parts of our improved tack-driving machine the operation of the entire machine will be clearly evident to these skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, there need be but little further said on that score. The fact that the machine is hung from above enables the operator to swin g it with ease from point to point of the work.

A suitable handle, S, is secured to the machine to assist in its manipulation. The rackbar on the plunger is normally out of engagement with the segment-gear, so that the powersupplying devices are kept constantly running, while the tack driving mechanism is maintained in a state of rest, except when the operator causes the plunger-rod to be brought under the action of the segment. Each time the plunger is raised by the segment the head.

of the plunger acts upon the cam carried by the horizontally rotative tackshifter, and a tack is taken from the raceway and transferred to a position in the barrcl,whence it passes in advance of the plunger, where the latter will strike it in its descent.

The parts of the machine are so related and adjusted for operation, as hereinabove set forth, that when the plunger is in' its elevated position the plate n will be in the position where it receives a tack from the chute. Consequently,when the plunger descends, this tack on the plate a will be thrown into the channel L; but when it reaches the end of this channel it will be barred by the red 7iy from at once entering the nose in advance of the said rod. It will therefore rest against the rod huntil at the next elevation ot" the plunger this barrier will be removed and the tack allowed to drop to the extremity of the nose, with its point resting upon the work at the exact spot where it is to be driven. Thus it will be clearly seen that each time theplu'nger begins its descent that is to say, each time it passes below the cam-th at tack is thrown into the barrel which will be driven at the next descentofthe plunger, and that tack is driven which was dropped into the barrel at the previous descent of the plunger.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a tack-driving machine, the combination of a plungerbarrel, a spring actuated plunger within said barrel provided with a rack'- bar, and a rotating segment-gear arranged, substantially as specified, so that the plunger may be engaged thereby when desired, and thus intermittently elevated, substantially as described.

2. In a tack-driving machine, the combination of the skeleton frame, the driving and the segment-carrying shafts journaled in suitable bearings and geared together, the plungerbarrel, the springactuated plunger having a vertical series of teeth, said plunger being arranged, substantially as set forth, so as to be intermittently elevated by the segment-gear, and suitable devices for thus situating the plunger, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the raceway and the channeled plunger-barrel, of a horizontally-rotative rod suitably formed to receive a tack and provided with a swinging foot to push the tack therefrom, together with mechanism, substantially as specified, for rotating said rod in both directions, and likewise devices for operating the swinging foot, all arranged substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination, with the raceway and the plu nger-barrel having an auxiliary inclined channel communicating with the main passage, of the horizontally rotative tackshifter having a notched plate, which receives the tack, and a pivoted foot for pushing off thetack into the inclined passage at the proper IOO IXO

instant, together' with a cam-groove for -actnating the pivoted foot and suitable mechanism for imparting motion to the said tack-shifter relatively to the movements of the plunger', and also for automatically replacing the shifter in its normal position, substantially as described.

5. In a tack-driving machine, the combination ofthe plungenbarrel having a niain passage and an auxiliary inclined passage, the spring-actuated plunger formed with a toothed rack, the rotating segment-gear'for elevating said plunger, and the horizontally-rotative tack-shifter provided with a Wing-cam ar' ranged to be operated by the'plunger-hcad at each elevation thereof, substantial] y as described.

6. 'Ihe combination ofthe upper frame, the horizontal drivingshaftjournaled therein and operated by suitable power, the segmentgear carried by a suitably -journaled horizontal shaft,said driving and segment-carrying shafts beingv geared together, as shown, the plungerbarrel having a main and an auxiliary inclined passage, the spring-actuated plunger provided with a rackbar, the horizontally-rotativetackshifter having at its upper end a Wing-cam to be acted on by the plunger-head, and having also a notched plate to carry the tack and a pivoted foot to throw off the tack, the spring coiled about said tack-shifter for returning the same to its normal position, and suitable means,

as a lever-handle, for raising the plunger so that its toothed portion may be engaged by the segment-gear, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the raceway, the plunger-barrel having a main and an inclined auxiliary passage, and the plunger-rod, of the horizontally-rotative tack-shifting rod formed' the spring for returning the rod to its normal place, and the cam-shaped groove which receives the lug on the arm, and thus governs the action ofthe foot,substantially as described.

8. In a tack-driving machine, the herein-described device for transferring the tacks individually from the raceway to the plunger-barrel, consisting of the rod M, having aiwingcam, N, and plate n, with notch 0, the arm 0, pivoted to said rod and having footp and lug r, the irregular cani-groove u, and the spring P, substantially as described.

In tcstimony'whereof We afiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

MARTIN K. ETHRIDGE. FRANK N. ETHRIDGE.

Witnesses:

CALEB LAMsoN, p NV. B. HUTCHINsoN.

iro 

